For the majority of the term the research paper has been in the back of my mind. We covered multiple chapters covering “Los Tres Grandes” and how they connected to larger movements in society. However, none of their paintings seemed particularly inspirational in terms of something to write about for the final research topic. What has been interesting to me, however, has been the idea of the indigenous identity. Everything I have written for this class has been infused with the idea of indigenous identity or mestizaje (mixed raced). I found that it is something that naturally ties into the course and each response paper. Being an indigenous person, I can personally relate to the messages the images convey. Because of this, I am genuinely interested in writing about each topic.

One day in class the Hovey Murals were mentioned and I didn’t know what they were. I was intrigued because I wasn’t aware of their existence. The Hovey Murals depict Native Americans in a racist and sexist manner which is why they are censored to an extent. I thought it was interesting that there was a second mural on campus that few people are aware of. This sparked my idea for a research paper. I would analyze censorship and authorization of art using the two murals as an example. When I found out the Hovey Murals were a response to the Orozco murals, a third dimension of my paper was added. I would talk about how art speaks for an official culture (why one censored while the other is proudly displayed).